The Iron Republic: Journey Through The Ice Wall

In 1902, an account was published under the name J. Edward Barrington — one that has never been proven fiction, and never been proven true. The Iron Republic brings that lost manuscript to life, word for word, performed entirely by Jason Hightower (voice of Jackie Welles in Cyberpunk 2077, Captain Doza in Star Wars: Resistance). It begins with a man's public ruin — a rigged election, a shattered career, and a vow to leave everything behind. Episodes 2, 3, and 4 are live right now — keep listening.

Thinking about doing a weekly director's commentary — Jason and I breaking down each episode, the writing, and stories from behind the mic. Want to hear it? Send questions or topics to: maluckinsmedia@gmail.com

— enough interest and we'll make it happen.

Disgraced and adrift, Barrington makes a decision that will change everything — turning his planned voyage away from the Arctic, and toward the ice fields of the South. Performed entirely by Jason Hightower. Catch Episode 1 if you missed it, and Episodes 3 and 4 are ready now.

The voyage south brings Barrington face to face with something no map prepared him for — walls of ice rising like cliffs from the sea. Episode 4 is live now, and it's where things get strange.

Barrington climbs alone to get his bearings — and sees something that shouldn't exist. Beyond the "impenetrable" ice wall: open water.

Want weekly commentary from Jason and I on how this story came together? Send your questions to: maluckinsmedia@gmail.com

— if enough of you want it, we'll start recording.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET — don't miss Episode 5.

Caught between towering walls of ice, Barrington's ship is swept forward by a current with no way to turn back. Whatever lies ahead, there's no going back now. Performed entirely by Jason Hightower.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET.

A strange, impossibly fast vessel tears out from the hidden harbor to meet them — and its pilot has never heard of the outside world Barrington calls home. For the first time, the name "Iron Republic" is spoken aloud. Performed by Jason Hightower.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET.

Barrington is still reeling from a broadcast unlike anything he's heard — real-time news, delivered across the Republic as if by magic — when he's introduced to Professor Morris, an American who found this place years ago and chose to stay. Two strangers, two worlds colliding, one impossible place tying it all together. Performed entirely by Jason Hightower.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET.

Barrington sets out to deposit his fortune — $50,000 in American gold — and discovers there's nowhere to put it. In the Iron Republic, gold isn't money at all, and everything he's ever understood about wealth is about to be turned upside down. Performed entirely by Jason Hightower.

New episodes drop every Tuesday at 9pm ET.

Barrington steps off the train into a vaulted station in the heart of the Republic's capital — and straight into a city that runs on nothing he recognizes. No horses. No noise. Streets full of gaily dressed people gliding past in silent, self-propelled carriages under brilliant electric light. At Professor Morris's home, the wonders keep coming: an "electric fire" that glows without flame, and an instrument reaching to the ceiling that turns out to be something Barrington never expected. Then Morris's wife enters — and Barrington gets his first taste of Republic hospitality from the other half of the household.

Barrington is offered an entire city's worth of entertainment on command — opera, lectures, a live orchestra piped straight into the room — and turns it all down for something simpler: he wants the professor's daughter to play for him herself. What follows is an evening of music, singing, and a flirtation Barrington can barely believe is happening, as he confesses he's pinched himself more than once since arriving, half-certain this whole world is a dream he's about to wake from. It's the most purely romantic chapter yet — and the first real spark of a connection that's going to matter.

Barrington lies awake in the Professor’s house, trying to decide whether the Iron Republic is real. The ship, the ice wall, the flying train and the girl downstairs all feel too strange to be true. He is a practical man, and he has just fallen for a woman he met only hours ago. At sunrise, music from an unseen source fills the whole city. It is the Matin, a hymn improvised each morning on a giant instrument and heard for miles. Out in the garden among the grapevines, Barrington learns who composed it. The answer is a name he was hoping not to hear.

Professor Morris has cleared his day to show Barrington the city, and the first thing he does is lend him a suit of clothes so he won’t draw crowds. Dressed like a local, Barrington is whirled across the capital to the Capitol. It is a vast marble hall modeled on the Roman Pantheon, with seating for fifteen thousand and a ceiling lit like a night sky. Around the walls runs a painted history of the Republic, starting with a ship fighting its way through polar ice. Barrington asks whether the country has known war. The answer is more violent than he expects.